This came up today at work and im not sure where the info as come from??
“When ever you have ANY load on (if this be 1 box or a full load) you MUST have your mid lift axle down”
Now im sure there is no regulation on this and infact i would say it can be dangerous due to lack of grip caused by taking weight off the drive axle when your are virtually empty. I think this is a “passed down” company policy from somewhere that is now trying to worm its way into our place??
If anyones got any " offical " line on this please let me know!!
it used to be law when you were taxed less to be on 6 axles, even empty pallets constituted a load and the axle had to be down
these days as long as you aren’t over the weight permitted you can keep it up.
Grrrr still not settled this. I need something in the form of regulation that i can throw on the table!! I might have to write to VOSA and try and get an offical line on this…
you won’t find a regulation for something that doesn’t exist
but if they want you to run with it down then do it
if you’re getting stuck then raise it and drop it again once on the move
See the other post, but to put it succincltly - if you can lift the axle you may do so - EU or whatever regs. require that if doing so puts the other axle overweight it should not be possible or words to that effect. If you can, lift it it isa legal to do so, and stupid (and sometimes downright dangersous) not to.
i asked this question to vosa couple years ago after getting pulled at dover and they said the same as long as the axle is fitted it dosent matter if it’s up or down
Bones:
Grrrr still not settled this. I need something in the form of regulation that i can throw on the table!!
As it is all to do with vehicle taxation you will get all the conformation you need here
In days of old you taxed the vehicle by number of axles and the old ‘axle must be down even for 1 box’ thing was true, container jockeys could get done for running with the axle up with an empty box on as the box is the load, not the contents of the box. When the taxation method changed to weight bands, a good few years ago now, this no longer applies. Sadly it may take a few years before the MMTM brigade update their information so this out of date requirement will still be peddled as fact.
Bones:
I might have to write to VOSA and try and get an offical line on this…Grrrr
Contact the DVLA, it’s about taxation so their domain rather than VOSA.
I always understood that this applied to discounted tax rates, generally the £2000 approx discount you got for running 38tonnes on 6 axles rather than 5, however what you are all missing is that there are still discounted rates in existance.
If you are taxed at 44 tonnes on 6 axles (band E) as long as the axle weights are legal it doesn’t matter, likewise if taxed at 40 tonnes on 5 (band G), however you can still save money by taxing at 38 tonnes on 6 axles (band D) this I believe would be a discount rate, you would also need all 6 axles down if running at over 38 tonnes rather than 40 tonnes since the tax rate for 5 axles over 38 tonnes is more than for 44 tonnes on 6.
acd1202:
however you can still save money by taxing at 38 tonnes on 6 axles (band D) this I believe would be a discount rate, you would also need all 6 axles down if running at over 38 tonnes rather than 40 tonnes since the tax rate for 5 axles over 38 tonnes is more than for 44 tonnes on 6.
If you taxed a vehicle, regardless of the number of axles, in Band D you couldn’t run at 40, or 44 tonnes. To tax in Band D the vehicle would need to be plated at a maximum of 38 tonnes. If it was plated higher than 38 tonnes it could only be taxed in Bands E or G.
bugcos:
Most of em drop any when you are over a certain weight
Renault Premiums do,and as far as I’m aware,always have.And as the current pilot of FM’and FH’s,they do as well,although the weight seems heavier with the Volvos before they do.
(Rich.Tell your old man to leave his wallet at home,then he’ll be ok. )
Bones:
This came up today at work and im not sure where the info as come from??
“When ever you have ANY load on (if this be 1 box or a full load) you MUST have your mid lift axle down”
Now im sure there is no regulation on this and infact i would say it can be dangerous due to lack of grip caused by taking weight off the drive axle when your are virtually empty. I think this is a “passed down” company policy from somewhere that is now trying to worm its way into our place??
If anyones got any " offical " line on this please let me know!!
There was never any official line on this. A lift axle is exactly that, it can be lifted to aid traction or to save tyres. The UK had strange excise duty laws that allowed a 38 tonner to run with 6 axles for a discounted rate. £682 for 6 months iirc. Some police officers decided they could do you for it, I bet no one can prove they got done.
Remember Den Hartogh with the MDI.
They ran normal red units pulling a crap coloured brown trailer. They were brown because MDI stains everything. These had automatic lift axles and lifted 2 trailer axles off the deck as you tipped. MDI cannot be cleaned so the tanks have to return to the loading point empty
